The Hawkins Strategy: Repealing Obamacare By Cutting Off The Funds

The problem with doing a full repeal of Obamacare is that it will take a majority in the House, the presidency, and 60 votes in the Senate.

Were I a betting man, I’d say condition one is very likely by 2012, condition 2 is definitely possible, but condition 3 is basically out of reach given that we only have 41 Senators right now. By 2014? Maybe, but under any circumstances, getting to 60 Senators is always extraordinarily difficult. Of course, we may be able to peel off some Democratic votes, but there’s no guarantee that will happen.

So, how do we kill Obamacare?

I have an idea.

“The IRS might have to hire as many as 16,000 new employees to enforce all the new taxes and penalties the bill calls for! And that doesn’t include all the other government jobs from the 159 new agencies, panels, commissions and departments this bill will create.”

What does it take to fund all those government jobs, agencies, panels, & commissions? Tax dollars.

Now, who controls the purse strings? Congress. How many votes do we need via reconciliation to make budget changes? 51.

So, can we gut Obamacare by refusing to fund it?

YES.
WE.
CAN.

Is this a viable strategy? Yes, it is.

Now, what if Obama is President and we do this? He still has to sign a reconciliation bill. Will he do that? He’s certainly not going to be inclined to do it. But, if Republicans don’t back down, we’ve got a stand-off. At that point, it probably comes down to who has the American people at their back. I like those odds.

On the other hand, if we can replace Obama in 2012, then a Republican President will definitely sign off on reconciliation and we’ve eviscerated Obamacare.

Of course, the ideal is still to repeal Obamacare in its entirety — and that should be our ultimate goal. But, if we can defund it while we’re working towards that end, it’ll be like ripping the engine out of the car that drives the bill — and it’s very doable.